Andrew Dwerryhouse MD at Wild Thang commented: “It’s this time of year that our thoughts turn to those most in need, we know that every little counts no matter how small can really make a difference! That’s why this festive season Wild Thang are very proud to have supplied the branding for the Emergency Homeless Survival Packs to the Cotton Street project free of charge.

This project is a truly unique and groundbreaking initiative that has been created by Signature Livings Lawrence Kenwright, we know that these packs will make a difference & we will be going even further by donating a sizable amount of stock clothing such as jackets, hoodies and hats to the Cotton Street Project which will hopefully keep a number of vulnerable Homeless people safe and warm this winter.

Find the hidden pens within our wreath to be in for a chance of winning a Luxury Christmas Hamper! Enter by commenting the correct answer on the wreath post on our Facebook or Twitter pages! All correct answers will be entered into our prize draw. Winner will be announced on Facebook & Twitter on Monday 17th December. Entry closes on Friday 14th December. Good Luck!

Fluid Branding are delighted to be awarded with the 2018 Sourcing City Distributor of the Year Award for the third year in a row! The Sourcing City Annual Awards are a way for suppliers and distributors within the promotional merchandise industry to vote for who they think is the best company to work with. Each participant gets three votes, on a first to third basis, so that they can give weight to the suppliers or distributors that they value the most.

The 15th British Promotional Merchandise Association’s Annual General Meeting was held at The London Mathematical Society, Russell Square on Wednesday 7th November 2018.

Graeme Smith opened his Chairman’s review by summarising industry challenges and opportunities, the successful Merchandise World shows, research, member benefits, education, events for 2018 and 2019 and more, including the BPMA’s Product Media Magazine which is now the principle magazine for the industry and continuing to grow.

This November, 5 members of USB2U’s trade sales team decided to “grow a mo” to raise money to fund research into some of the biggest health issues faced by men.

The Movember campaign is committed to fighting some of the most common health issues faced by men. The funds raised help finance research into prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health and suicide prevention. These issues could affect any one of us, be that directly or through friends, family members or colleagues, so it did not take much convincing for the boys to get on board.

Branded bag specialist Bagco has added a new member to its team who is well versed in some of the world’s top retail brands. Account Manager Hayley Clark has worked with a portfolio of leading names such as Disney, Cath Kidston, Paperchase and FitFlop in previous retail head office roles.

The Promo Trade family are taking part in Windsor’s Santa Dash, 25th November 2018, for their chosen charity Alexander Devine. Promo Trade work closely with Alexander Devine, assisting them in many ways with their fundraising or promotional merchandise. Alexander Devine is a Children’s Hospice Service and was founded in 2007 with the aim of providing a dedicated Children’s Hospice service, for all children with life limiting and life-threatening illnesses in Berkshire and beyond.

Bagco’s Black Friday event is here and this year, they are doing things a little differently.

They have teamed up with Plastic Oceans, a charity whose vision is to stop plastic pollution within the space of one generation. Launching today, Bagco are giving you the choice to DONATE or DISCOUNT on every order you place with them throughout the week…the choice is yours.!

The Galpeg Associate Programme continues to go from strength to strength, with the addition of three new promotional product distributors.

LKG Merchandise, Insignia Promotions and GB Merchandise, and all recently signed up to the programme, which provides time-saving outsourcing tools and resources for independent distributors, allowing them to concentrate on growing their businesses.

On Thursday November 15th three members of the Scanglo team will be sleeping rough for the night outside Norwich City FC to raise awareness of youth homelessness in support of local charity The Benjamin Foundation.

ARC Textiles, formerly ARC Apparel are excited to announce the rebrand of the company. ARC textiles now offer a wider range of branded textiles, under the new company name.

Our versatile collection of products includes new additions to our range of digitally printed towels, fleece blankets, printed tea towels and picnic blankets.

Hot-footing it back from the Far East, Matt Pluckrose brings news of the latest in tech.

So, the annual technology fairs have now hit Hong Kong and after around 60k steps on my activity tracker we have finally finished and are ready to start work on launching the latest gadgets for 2019, but what is trending? Totally new concepts were thin on the ground, but it did highlight some popular trends in technology. Probably the single most popular technology concept is ‘true wireless stereo’ (TWS) or the ability to pair two Bluetooth audio devices to each other to create wireless stereo.

It’s November. The nights are drawing in, the mornings are becoming frosty and it becomes a time for reflecting on our summer hols and those days in the sun that now begin to feel like a very long time ago. Then suddenly the ‘cash flow itch’ reminds us that it’s only one more month until the dreaded ‘C’ word “What’s Christmas really got to do with cash flow?” we hear you ask.

Diversity training can be viewed with suspicion, but there is a business case for it.

The term ‘reverse discrimination’ essentially means a majority group is discriminated against in favour of a minority group. If a programme assigns blame or makes any group feel guilty, then the training is bad. The purpose of diversity training is to encourage inclusivity and equality among all groups. Encouraging communication, learning to listen and speak with one another, regardless of difference, is more helpful that dividing employees and highlighting their differences.

Putting a customer on hold needn’t mean putting them off. Mark Williamson explains the importance of call handling for the promotional products sector.

The promotional products industry knows the value of a good first impression. After all, the sector helps businesses capture attention through branded items. However, savvy businesses owners in the sector also recognise that it’s not just about how your company looks but also how your company sounds. The telephone is often the first point of contact for inbound sales leads, with research finding that almost half of consumers still prefer to get information over the phone rather than online. Yet businesses still aren’t recognising the link between caller satisfaction and its impact on the bottom line. A study by PHMG has found 73% of Brits won’t do repeat business with a company if their initial call wasn’t handled to satisfaction.

Briman Group companies are taking the responsibility for responsible production seriously, says Mark Alderson.

With more than £243 million of goods being imported into the UK by sea and air, the large carbon footprint caused by international sourcing is clear to see. The UK manufactured products not only have a reduced carbon footprint but with many Briman members investing in environmentally friendly schemes, their benefits to the environment are far-reaching.